7
• I-
Jb*
Let'll go to th«* b«r and Ulk th» dodfre
! over. The minute 1 heard that nlate- feet,
ment I opened both ears. The one
talking was Jack Rufus and he was
talking to Johnny Sparks. These two
dfci > timing was almost per
t X l
Ml fir ua
and
see
n
•! \
CD
i •
I
. t
*■?
16
it. Both fighting for a chance at the
champ. His opponent had a powerful
were in the same boat, right hand that the kid had been
The ki< had to slip off from his sister warned to stay away from, but try
f** m as he could that right was alwajrs
every day m order to , , , , . . _
shaking him a bit. The first round
m in the
rs sister. The
all over his
just what he
boys peimjd. up to make the best
fl|^hi-p#eaBMBg team in the East. 1
' followed them because when they had stranger,
things to t t k over, the results always After a few
proved interesting, and it was my *how j ip with
place to get whatever news they had. ^*6 lu| always had
Yeah. Tm a reporter.' f v face. I was aakaiiM
Jack! says Johnny, I’ve got h new w ** g idnftg^.jp. But if it had been
boy that’s hotter’n two kinds of hell.
Jacks says ao what and nothing more, niyself that is if she was hanging on
It’s like thia says Johnny again. This my an a.
boy I’ve found will be the n*xl 4hamp. Afte r aboht two months of good, ed, some didn’t; but those that
yeah, I said the next champ. Of hard training Frankie was ready. His
course he will have to take a few first f|ght was to be over in Jersey
fights and get a reputation for him- so we pU went. By this time Jack had
self first, but HI bet alt the money l convin *4 tie IcUll sister , that it
have that ilHide of two years ieH be wasnt such a bad racket and she was
the only contender left. There's only as rea y to gd as we were. _ ^
one'thing wrong, but you ega fix The kid w«h fighting an ex-eailor ‘iron-men’—I could see myself eating
that. Jack Man to get a little sue- that wtm rough and tough In fact he beans for a week If the kid lost. But
pkious ao Johnny went ad talking uxiked he mean from where I was like I said it was the sixth that finish-
It's the kid’s sister. She doesn’t think sitting: that I crossed my fingers. ed the fight. The kid floored him
he should be fight i ^ Well, aow. ain’t The hell sounded and the fight was tw^ before the referee calld a tech-
that something says jack, what are on. Thb sailor'tfcme plear across the niml knockout.
you doing, robbing the cradle? ring id two jumps, took a long left Right after the fight Jack and the
I slid up a little closer to son If I Sjthb u bm kid*a face. He missed but kid's sister were married. Everyone
Could get the kid’s name. Johnny caughtj him wad a right cross that ww feeling swell. The coMftmr champ
says to Jack that he should make p hit thd kid pn the side of the head. wMlained of f headache and went
play for the kid’s sister aad get her The U||| couldn’t get his bearings, but home to bed.
on his side, getting h*r to Iflce boxing, he majaaged to stay away from the A couple of weeks after the last
It was kinds funny,
in this compute P«»vcd nothing, both men
-w of conditioa and it looked like
began to tke fight would be a decision match.
It was in the second round that the
kid got an awTul lick in the middle of
his forehead. The blow knocked the
I mould Have felt kind* happy down. He stayed for the couat of
nine then was up on his feet throwing
gloves all over the place, Some laikl-
dtd
made the other guy steer clear for
awhile. I could see, in my own dumb
way that something was wrong. His
timing was off, way off.
H was the sixth round that broke
up the fight and brought back my ten
Not letting her know of con rag that sailor,
he was in on the deal. Thay worked
every angle out right there and then.
It would have been a good story to
break as it was. but 1 wasn’t so sure
that this was the time to break it;
there might be more to »t.j I *
Well, things jwo^t along a little
fight I went around to see the kid in
Thetf sparYed for an opening, then action. Not seeing him at the gym, 1
all of 4 sudden tke kid let go. A right, went to Johnhy’s office,
a leftj another right, another left. Hi ya Jotyuty! How I
are things
then a aerie* of' body punches that going. Rotten he says, and the way he
put tip j tailor on hia bike The kid said it, I believed him. He asked me
finally: cornered him and went through can I keep a secret, ao I says yes. I
Jfch f9r The sailor had my fingers crossed, just in case
faster than Johnny had figured and couldn|kithfhw a punch Talk about it was something big that I could use.
it wasn’t quite a year before the kid form!-lima kid was perfect and was The kid's going blind, he says. The
was ready to fight the champ, and mer cil4se in: hpjattiairpt to floor his doc said another fight would cost him
it looked like he was going to beat- nppompi. imijljar left to the face, his eyesight. That's a tough break,
him. The story broke in th* morning t * len another, and to finish the bout especially just before his big fight,
that Frankie Dikes, the kid, had re- th * started one from the floor. Tliat’a the reason Frankie Dikes quit
tired from the ring. Here he was on Telegraphed? Stira it was but the the fight* game. He had two swell
the eve of the championship bout, re- **»l*r rouldn’t move The kid won'by managers and they were ghing to see
tiring. There must be something * knockout in the first round. toi it that nothing happened :to him
wrong. Vou know I have heard of I followed tip kid wherever he whether he could fight or noi!
plenty of the boys retiring after they fought^ in the papers, of course. Four-
have become champs, but none before to< * n kn<>ckoap|' le *» than a year,
they even fought. The story I picked That’s, a good record in ally league
up is pretty good »° going to pass * Tbajpfteanth fight brought the kid
it on to you. f back Home to the Garden. He was in
the Big competition now and had a
I
, M
•
- j|[
[ hi '
J h
[Li. i.
The three of them opened
turant right after the retirement and
wRen .1 saw that I figured tfcimjwas
the time to break the story. There
hadn’t been one antil now. I wrote the
story up and it nan a whole column in
name for himself. His opponent was the Sunday paper it got me a bonus
Frankie was about nineteen, blond a smooth boxer who had almost the aad would yop believe it—Johnny
hair and blue eyes. Not one inch of same reputation aa the kid and the railed me up and told me to e*t with
hia face looked that of a fighter. But fight res e cinch |o be a good one. them any time I got ready and »t
his body, now that was something The winner was the undisputed chal- would be on the house, Now I charge
different. Big shoulders, slim- hips U nger far the qMpMaNjhi 1 the expense account for my meals
and thin ankles. He could weave. The MB sounded and they were at and put the money in ray pocket
THE BATTA1J0N